


we can burn brighter than the sun

by amoderatelycreativehumanbeing



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Reunions, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Song: We Are Young (fun.)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:14:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28332201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amoderatelycreativehumanbeing/pseuds/amoderatelycreativehumanbeing
Summary: In a world where Cedric Diggory lives and becomes a pro quidditch player. Harry Potter, the DADA professor at Hogwarts, bumps into the old lad on Christmas Eve and they catch up.the rekindling of once-forgotten feelings ensues.....
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Harry Potter
Kudos: 76





	we can burn brighter than the sun

Distant laughter and the light clatter of The Three Broomsticks on Christmas Eve filled Harry’s ears. While he brushed snow off his coat he could see some of his coworkers sitting and laughing but Harry decided to just sit at the bar. “a shot of fire whiskey please.” The professor requested after he slung his coat around the chair and took his seat. He placed a couple of books down on the stool next to him. 

Harry stopped by Tomes and Scrolls earlier that evening to pick up some books for a new lesson plan coming up after the break. His own Christmas gift to his students. One on muggle defense, another on advanced counter curses for jinxes and hexes. Harry tried his best to incorporate some sort of muggle study into his work. He wanted his students to be well rounded in both worlds, how else would they survive life out of Hogwarts?

The bartender handed him his drink. “Thank you.” he tipped a galleon sipping his whiskey. The cinnamon dancing on his tongue and searing the back of his throat; burning feeling right back into his frozen nerves. Fire whiskey was perfect for winter, just what he needed to warm up. 

“Someone sitting here?”Harry heard a familiar voice, he looked up to find Cedric Diggory’s kind smile shining down on him. Diggory didn’t seem to recognize him right away, his eyes growing brighter at the sight of Harry Potter okay. “Harry.” Cedric’s polite smile turned to a full-on grin. “How are you?” 

Harry almost forgot how to speak, the sight of someone so dream-like standing in front of him. “I’m good, and you?” he asked fluttery. 

This was so weird, it’s just Pretty Boy Diggory. It’s not like he hasn't seen glimpses of him on the telly, glistening under quidditch stadium lights and flailing his arms in victory. It’s not like Harry remembered Bill and Fleur's wedding and the sight of Cedric just a bit tipsy under the tent lights bumping elbows with people and greeting them with kisses on the hand. It wasn’t like he remembered the bliss that washed over every muscle in his body when Cedric started breathing again. It wasn’t like he remembered all the times they’d study together and Cedric would (in his opinion) accidentally brush his foot against Harry’s. It wasn’t like he remembered dueling with Cedric in DA meetings, Ced eventually teaching Harry charms and different ways to cope with Umbridge’s punishments. It wasn’t like Harry remembered the regret that would fester in his chest when they started drifting away from each other. 

“I‘ve been doing good. Oli’s driving me off the wall though…” Harry guessed “Oli” was a nickname for Oliver Wood, having seen them play together before. Ron always held season tickets to Puddlemere’s games, he thought their team legendary with Wood, Diggory, and Davies on the same footing. 

Harry remembered when the three were the talk of the school in his third year. Oliver, Cedric, and Roger: the star quidditch players. He remembered them being exceptionally close, always trailing after each other and playing around before quidditch games. Harry even remembered seeing Cedric and Roger watching in on Gryffindor practices, the two of them cheering on their good friend before he’d be gone forever. 

“Oliver right?” he asked, taking another sip from his glass. “I know the feeling.” Harry giggled, the memory of Oliver Wood and his obsession with quidditch something fresh in his mind. Cedric seemed to come to a revelation just then. 

“that’s right! he was your captain-” The bartender interrupted his thought, asking him what he would be drinking. She didn’t sound happy. “oh! my apologies love.” he replied, “ I’ll have a glass of brandy please?” He was so polite with her, Harry never would’ve had the patience to be so kind after being spoken to like that. 

While the tender fixed his drink Cedric’s attention went back to Harry. “anyways. That’s right, Oliver was your captain.” He redirected his thoughts “how did you deal with his-“ 

“rants? nagging? waking us up at four-thirty in the bloody morning?” Harry guessed, Cedric laughed like honey, a sweet, smooth giggle that the professor had missed so dearly. Before Diggory could actually speak, the bartender passed him his glass. Harry slid two galleons over to the woman, she took them before the quidditch player could renounce the pay. 

“you didn’t have to pay for me.” He pointed out, Harry rolled his eyes watching Cedric sip from his drink. 

“I know.” he shrugged “I wanted to though.” Cedric just sat there for a second, he didn’t seem to know how to deal with that sentence. 

“Well.” he coughed “thank you.” 

After an awkward couple of minutes of waiting for someone to say something and Harry panicking because what the fuck did he just say, Ced shifted. A subtle sort of uncomfortable shimmy that completely changed the subject. Harry was brought to the reality that he was sitting on his books. Cedric Diggory was sitting on his new books that he’d have to use for school. He decided to wait until Diggory figured that out for himself. 

“Everything okay?” Harry had to try not to snicker. Ced waved it off moving more, wrapping his feet around the chair. 

“just a weird chair is all.” He shrugged and drank his brandy

“well, that may be because you’re sitting on my books.” Harry gestured with his drink hand the whiskey sloshing letting out light sizzles. 

“Oh!” Cedric’s eyes got wide while he stepped off, his hands looked unnatural around the new books, his fingers barely bending around the spines- making it look almost like he was wearing another person’s arms. Harry had never really seen him like this. 

Cedric was the type to drink brandy in the winter and wine in the summer. He was the type to let his charm flow effortlessly without conviction. Though this fun, almost scattered side of his mind added to his glow. In a way it made him shine brighter. 

“I’m so sorry!” he laughed, smooth voice popping up and smearing into tender giggles. “here.” Ced handed the books to him. The top and more skinny one a little warmer than the fat bottom one. Harry fumbled them in his hands for a second before setting them down on the bar table. 

“it’s warm,” Harry said trying to keep a straight face, Cedric on the other hand couldn’t. His cackle popped something bubbly in his gut causing Harry to scrunch over laughing like someone had said the best joke known to man. 

When things dialed down Cedric slid back onto his stool getting comfortable. “If I'm not mistaken you're teaching muggle defense?” He asked, drinking from his glass with slightly knitted eyebrows. 

“yeah.” Harry replied “well. Defense Against The Dark Arts.” He added, his job didn’t seem too glorious compared to the glitter and gold that came with professional quidditch. Yet Cedric seemed to be ecstatic to learn more. 

“I’m guessing you teach them separately?” Harry shook his head taking another sip.

“No, I’ve mixed them.” he said, “like one day I’ll do one, the other the next, or both in the same class.” Cedric nodded 

“I think that’s really cool.” Cedric gave him a kind smile that warmed Harry’s heart. “I remember you teaching in Dumbledore’s Army. You were really in your element.” 

Harry smiled at the compliment. He remembered during one of the DA duels Cedric would go against both the twins at the same time, both parties being extremely strong in defense and charms. He pulled out a spell that wasn’t even taught at Hogwarts. It wasn’t illegal but the spell was so advanced that they just didn’t feel the need. 

Later he explained to Harry that the only reason Cedric could do that and get a proper result was because of all the pushing he’d done and went further in on his excruciatingly studious home life filled with charms tutors from the age of nine. Harry had been riding on a confidence high for the next couple of weeks. Needing to be grounded from time to time by Hermionie. 

“I don’t think I’ve seen a professor so perfect for their job since Pro Lupin.” Cedric went on. Being compared to the best teacher Hogwarts had ever been granted was even more of a compliment for him. Harry didn’t really know what to do with all this praise. 

“I don’t know if anyone could top him.” he gave a weak smile back, Cedric shook his head.

“He was an amazing professor, but I don’t think anyone could copy the fun I had in DA.,” he said this and Harry really had nothing to say. He didn’t know how to reply to something so kind. 

“Uhm thank you.” Harry choked “that means a lot.”

“don’t mention it,” Cedric said going back to his brandy. They talked until the moon got high among the clouds and the world seemed to slow. Catching up, reminiscing, even just simply talking about hobbies. Harry had learned so much about pro quidditch life and Cedric’s very rare instances of downtime and in return he had to listen to Harry’s rambling about his teaching life and gossip among his students. He couldn't remember a time when he’d had this much fun just talking to someone. It all made Harry remember why he liked Cedric so much, why a telltale, schoolyard sizzle would creep up his stomach whenever people spoke of him. 

“Well.” Cedric interrupted Harry’s thoughts and he’d awkwardly came to the realization that he’d been staring. “I think if we stay a minute longer the bartender over there is going to hex us.” I smiled at his joke. There was always a funny irony in the way Ced presented his humor. 

“Yeah, plus.” Harry checked his watch, trying not to cringe at how late it was “I have a mountain of papers to grade tomorrow.” Diggory looked at him like he was crazy. 

“Tomorrow? Don't you have a family to get to?” Harry scoffed, putting his coat back on. 

“Cedric, I'm staying at my job for the holidays.”He gathered his books in his arms “Unless you mean a family of papers and room temperature butterbeer, I have no one this year.” Cedric got up from his chair with one of the most comically confused faces Harry had seen in a lifetime. 

“Merlin, I would have thought you and Weasley would have two kids and a dog by now?” He couldn't help but laugh at him. Sometimes Cedric was even more oblivious than he was. 

“She's a lesbian Ced.” Harry patted his shoulder and walked towards the door, him hurrying to follow. “It's a long story,” he told him when they reached the door and Cedric huffed deeming it not really his business anyway. 

“Lemme get that for you.” Diggory swooped his arm over to the door and opened it, the cold of mid-December biting both of them in the face. They walked out and Harry was brought to the melancholy conclusion that this was the end of their meeting and he’d have to wait another millennium just to see Cedric again. “I had a lot of fun.” he turned to Harry and took out a card from his wallet. “This is my card for agents but my address is on it in case you want to keep in touch.” 

“Oh, that's why I keep getting owls from your mother.” Harry joked taking the card and slipping it somewhere in one of his books, Ced giggled “thankyou, who knows maybe I might have enough time to catch one of your games while you guys are here.” Cedric’s smile went away. 

“Tomorrow night is our last game before we leave.” He looked at the floor for a second thinking about how many times he’s had that much fun doing simply nothing and how most of those were with him. About how it crushed Harry to see him fall away from his view. 

Looking up he took one of Cedric’s hands “I’ll be there, just save me a seat?” he nodded.

“I’ll try my best.” He said and Harry smiled up at him lightly squeezing. 

“Good.” he hugged him smelling the same orange and lavender from all those years ago “I’ll see you tomorrow.”Harry grinned and Ced followed walking backward to get to his hotel before Oliver bit his head off. 

“Be there at seven on the dot!” he yelled and Harry laughed, shooting him a thumbs-up as he walked towards the school. Harry left with this golden happiness, but it was hollow, he wanted more so quickly. He found himself wishing Cedric had hugged him longer. A wish a little too familiar but it didn't end in this shallow doubt that it would ever come true. 

Harry had a thought to run down the empty school halls like he used to late at night when anything ever ended well for him. It was a good way to determine if this was all a dream or not, it helped him process everything and dream up different scenarios of what's next. Yet something told him that he already knew what was next. That quidditch game.

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my favorite hedric fluff ideas and also one of my favorites out of all the fics I've written about these two. I decided to post this on Christmas because its a Christmas based fic, so happy holidays!! For whatever it is you celebrate I sincerely hope you enjoyed this little one-shot. (I also hope you enjoyed my film trailerlike summary )
> 
> happy holidays!! sending much love and thanks for reading this piece!!


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